My Afternoon off...

Every now and again I get burnt out at work. The patients I have come in cycles- new ones at the beginning of their pregnancy with all their needs and new problems, then these same patients after delivery with the CPS involvement and custody issues. At the peaks of these two cyles, I tend to have my moments of burn-out. Having just finished a CPS/delivery wave, now I am in the new patients, new problems wave. Also, one of the six therapists left, leaving five of us to manage all the patients. My caseload is new, and it is rising.

There are various causes of exhaustion on different days. On Mondays, I have two hours of back-to-back art therapy group that I plan and run. It may sound easy, but it is its own version of chaotic managing needy and unruly patients, keeping a topic relevant to them, following rules like sedation protocols, and making sure my supplies don't disappear. Tuesday, I was feeling emotinoally exhausted; just sad. Sad for the women trying so hard to kick addiction with the odds and a terrible life history up against them. Sad from patient after patient sitting in my office crying and crying. Sad from seeing some women so far gone into their addiction that their prognisis as poor on a good day. Sad sad SAD.

Today I am a mixture of the two. After a patient, a group, clinical rounds and methadone rounds this morning, I asked my supervisor for permission to retreat home for the rest of the afternoon. To relax? Nope. To do three weeks of case notes I have fallen behind on and can't get done at the office because of constant other things to do.

SO here is my afternoon off to recalibrate and recuperate from work: millions of work case notes. SIGH. At least Zorro is here and he doesn't shoot dope, nod out, eat benzos or smoke crack. Or grass. Or snort. Or take pills. You get the idea.

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